Online gaming platform Roblox has banned kids from “social hangout” spaces — areas that feature communication through voice chat or text and offer “free-form 2D user creation” experiences where users can do things like share drawings. Roblox has also added safeguards to prevent those under the age of 13 from playing, searching or discovering unrated games. Roblox has imposed the restrictions following allegations that it has failed to protect its younger users. This is the latest such update by a string of social platforms that have imposed guardrails designed to protect young users as lawmakers turn up the heat on child online safety. Continue reading Roblox’s New Child Safety Measures Target Hangout Spaces

A federal judge has partially blocked a new Texas law by disallowing requirements that social platforms identify minors and filter content for their safety. The Securing Children Online Through Parental Empowerment (SCOPE) Act, signed last year, threatens free speech due to its “monitoring and filtering” requirements the court ruled as the basis for a temporary injunction. Under the law, registered users under 18 will be subject to limited data collection, target advertising bans and parental consent for financial transactions. SCOPE would affect a range of online services, with large social platforms a focus. Continue reading Judge Blocks Sections of a Texas Law Meant to Protect Minors

The U.S. Department of Justice has filed suit against TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, charging they’ve violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) by allowing children to create TikTok accounts without parental consent, and collecting their data. The suit also alleges TikTok retained the personal data of minors who joined prior to COPPA going into effect in 2000, even after parents demanded it be deleted, a right under COPPA. This latest move in the ongoing legal battle with ByteDance follows the Chinese company’s own lawsuit against the U.S. government. Continue reading U.S. Raises Stakes in TikTok Legal Battle, Suing Under COPPA

The New York legislature passed a bill prohibiting social media companies from providing children with so-called “addictive feeds” without parental consent. The Stop Addictive Feeds Exploitation (SAFE) for Kids Act specifies addictive feeds as those that prioritize exposure to content (using a recommendation engine, or other means) based on information collected about the user or device. “Non-addictive feeds,” in which the algorithm serves content in chronological order, are still permitted under the bill, which New York Governor Kathy Hochul has vowed to sign into law. Continue reading New York Lawmakers Aim to Make Social Feeds Safe for Kids

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has signed a bill into law preventing children under 14 from creating new social media accounts, and requiring platforms to delete existing accounts, with no opportunity for parental consent. For children 14- to 15-years of age, consent of a parent or guardian is required to create or maintain accounts. Without it, or upon request, the accounts and personal data must be deleted, with fines of up to $50,000 per incident per platform. The law, set to take effect in January 2025, is being called the most restrictive passed by any state and is sure to face First Amendment scrutiny by the courts. Continue reading Florida Enacts the Nation’s Most Restrictive Social Media Law

Florida’s legislature has passed a bill banning children younger than 16 from having social media accounts despite some pushback from Governor Ron DeSantis, who said he will be wrestling with whether to sign the measure into law. Due to a procedural requirement, DeSantis will have to sign or veto the proposed legislation before lawmakers conclude the current session in a matter of weeks. He has expressed dissatisfaction with the lack of a provision to let parents override the restriction, which would curtail access to the most popular sites, potentially impacting TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat and YouTube. Continue reading Florida Pushes Forward a Social Media Ban for Kids Under 16

This month, Alphabet-owned YouTube will begin limiting the data it collects on children’s videos and stop showing data-driven personalized ads. Video creators will be responsible for designating their content as targeting children and will face Federal Trade Commission fines if they do not do so. The FTC also won’t allow comments or other features such as pop-ups meant to increase viewership. The new data collection limits will likely have negative financial implications for creators of free kids’ content. Continue reading YouTube Limits Data Collection, Targeted Ads on Kids’ Videos

The FTC and New York attorney general announced yesterday that Google is being fined $170 million following the investigation of YouTube’s alleged violations of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). The investigation claims that Google marketed the video platform to advertisers based on the popularity of channels with younger audiences, and tracked viewing histories of children to serve them ads, without first getting consent of the parents. Google and YouTube will pay $136 million to the FTC and $34 million to New York in the largest COPPA fine to date (Congress enacted the law in 1998). Continue reading Google Will Pay $170 Million in Record COPPA Settlement

Kid-friendly video content is now available on a dedicated YouTube Kids website that filters content deemed most appropriate based on three different age groups. The site offers a similar experience to the mobile app of the same name. Parents can select age-appropriate videos based on newly listed age groups, track viewing history and flag anything that may be missed by filters. A sign-in option is expected to be added in the future. The filters include “Preschool” (up to age 4), “Younger” (ages 5 to 7) and “Older” (kids over 7). Content is organized by categories including Explore, Gaming, Music and Shows.  Continue reading Google Filters Appropriate Content with YouTube Kids Site

The Federal Trade Commission just inked a settlement with video social network TikTok (which merged with Musical.ly last year) over the charge that its app illegally collected children’s personal information. A large percent of users are under 13, and the personal information collected — without asking for parental permission — included email addresses, names and schools. The site refused to delete video and other data when requested by some parents. The FTC said the $5.7 million settlement is a record for a child privacy violation. Continue reading TikTok to Pay Record Fine After Violating Children’s Privacy

Two Democratic senators — Edward Markey of Massachusetts and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut — sent a letter on Wednesday to the Federal Trade Commission asking for an investigation into whether the thousands of “child-friendly” apps in the market are actually collecting children’s personal information. To do so would violate a federal law protecting children’s online privacy, since it requires sites and apps targeting persons under 13 years old to obtain verifiable parental permission before collecting data. Continue reading Senators Ask FTC to Examine Kids Apps’ Privacy Violations

The Federal Trade Commission announced yesterday that game maker TinyCo agreed to pay $300,000 to settle charges that it violated children’s privacy rules by improperly collecting information. The company was accused of violating the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). In a separate case, Yelp agreed to pay a $450,000 penalty for doing the same through its consumer review app. Both companies were charged with collecting personal info from children under 13 without parental consent. Continue reading Yelp and TinyCo Face Fines After Violating Children’s Privacy